'Check her out.. Oh My God! Look at all that make-up she's got on for the puja. I mean, all decked up in that transparent saree. Back in India no one wears such hideous outfits when you're in the temple. Is she here to socialize or to pray ?' Excerpts from a conversation I'd overheard(No! I was not eavesdropping!) not so recently which set me thinking.. aren't we being rather presumptuous? Are we- the so-called Indian Born Clearheaded Desis any better ?
Spend a day at Coffee Day and you would see what I mean. At a corner table, there's this couple(probably stopped by en route to the beach) sharing a Mocha, girl's in a salwar hiding her face with her dupatta every time she sees someone she might know, guy looks like he's professing his love for her(while he's actually busy checking out the girl at the next table).
On the couches there are a bunch of school kids, on their first group outing(you know the kind where the girls and boys hang out together for the first time)- bunking Maths tuition(Hopefully Nirmala ma'am won't complain to mommy & daddy).
And then theres another group of girls, short skirts and nose piercings alike, rolling their eyes at the waiter, talking about the best hair straighteners in the market; and a bunch of guys hanging out at the door, by their bikes, spiked hair(bronze colored too, if you're lucky!), ear piercings, smoking, waiting for the all-girl group to step out.
Amidst all this you'll probably also find one of those ultra-cool dads spending time with his kids and his reluctant wife(characterised by the saree and the 'shocked-out-of-wits' expression), trying to prove that he's 'in' with the times.
Now, honestly, don't you think the term 'ABCD', and all the social stigma that goes with it, is a teeeny weeny bit unwarranted ?
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